sethmeyers

Comedian Bill Hader has been on 'Saturday Night Live' (Sat., 11:30PM ET on NBC) for many years now. He's also starred in such movies as 'Superbad' and 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall.' But even for an experienced comedian, performing on live TV can be tough. And unexpected problems occurred on the latest episode of 'SNL' when Hader started struggling with his lines.

Also on tap: the musical group MGMT, Suze Orman with some financial health tips, Barack Obama with a few words for Wall Street, and a digital short in which Sidibe and Andy Samberg face off in an epic fruit-filled duel.

(S35E19) All in all, a pretty mediocre episode. Ryan Phillippe didn't seem to stretch himself in any way. Well, okay, okay, he dressed up as a chick for a sketch, but apart from that, there was no palpable attempt to celebrate the fact that Ryan Phillippe was hosting or play to his strengths. I mean, I won't pretend I know what those particular strengths are, but 'Saturday Night Live' usually does a fair job of letting hosts try something dramatically out of their comfort zone or play up something unexpected. There was no sense of that in this episode.

Maybe they wanted to keep the episode toned down to counter whatever amount of crazy Ke$Ha wanted to unleash. By the way, that girl looks like she perpetually smells like drugstore watermelon body spray and BO. If that's the look she's going for, she's really nailing it.

'Scrubs' star Sarah Chalke has landed a guest spot on the CBS pilot 'Team Spitz.' She'll play a guidance counselor in the high school comedy, which also co-stars 'The Daily Show's' Rob Riggle. Meanwhile, Chalke will also star in the ABC comedy 'Freshman,' about three politicians living together in D.C. [Ausiello Files]

(S35E18) Tina Fey gives hope to all nerdy funny girls out there. You may be frumpy and strange now, girls, but all you have to do is work really hard, be yourself, create/write/star in a hit show with Alec Baldwin and become super-famous. Then you will finally be able to soothe the flame of self-hate this is currently raging within you. This is the only option to escape your ugly duckling phase. Sorry if you were convinced otherwise.

All right, seriously, this was a solid episode. It felt like Fey had a strong hand in what kind of material was being produced; most of the sketches worked very well for her. This was also the first time I had heard Justin Bieber. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Jude Law took time out from his busy Broadway and film schedule to host 'Saturday Night Live.' The show covered his 'Hamlet' audition, ex-congressman Massa's groping debacle, and the game show 'Secret Word.' And Jerry Seinfeld helped out Seth Meyers with a 'Really?' segment.

Whoopi Goldberg stopped by Weekend Update to talk about being the spokesperson for Poise pads, and Andy Samberg and Julian Casablancas teamed up for 'Boombox.'

(S35E17) Congratulations, Jude Law. That was a solid episode all around and a fine return to the 'Saturday Night Live' stage. And despite the fact that Pearl Jam was virtually unrecognizable to any ears that haven't heard them since the early-'90s, at least Law's musical guest didn't have any reason to do an awkward hoedown during a career-crippling blunder.

Cold Open: Of course they had to talk about this. Of course. Now, if you haven't read up on the incredibly weird Eric Massa story, it probably would have seemed like 'SNL' was just making up most of it. Unfortunately, they weren't. Maybe that's why they felt that ridiculously long intro was necessary? Anyway, the treatment of this topic was all right, though the absolute best part was Bobby Moynihan as Massa, attempting stealth snorkeling on Andy Samberg (the weak distraction was especially nice). And no, sorry, you can't unsee it.

(S35E16) This was definitely one of the weirder installments of 'Saturday Night Live' in a while, but for fans of Zach Galifianakis, it was a real treat. It's very rare that the entire tone of the evening so perfectly fits the host. A lot of hosts, be they athletes or singers or professional actors, use 'SNL' as a platform for showcasing other talents that they have (or think they have) and that can often lead to strange, near unwatchable territory.

Galifianakis knows where's his strong points are and confidently played those up all through the episode. He is not at his best with cue card-heavy parts, but rather when he forces the audience to bask in his glorious, beardy, unsettling presence. So we got a lot of that. A lot. Response to this episode will probably be highly divided (well, more so than other weeks) but, speaking as a long-time fan of Galifianakis, it worked.

The kissing family also made an appearance (at a funeral, no less), and one of our favorite talk shows, 'What Up With That?,' was back with actor Paul Rudd, as well as the always ignored Lindsey Buckingham.

The news came from a panel discussion in New York on Tuesday night about 'SNL,' whose attendees included longtime 'SNL' executive producer Lorne Michaels and 'SNL' head writer/'Weekend Update' anchor Seth Meyers. "I think it's happening," Meyers told Jezebel.com, about a White hosting gig. "We would love to have her."

(S35E15) Someone at NBC or 'Saturday Night Live' sensed that you haven't thought about the music of Jennifer Lopez (no one calls her J. Lo anymore, right?) in about ten years, and in an effort to get "Waiting for Tonight" stuck in your head again, they brought her back. It was supposed to be some sort of double-whammy, a way for Lopez to promote her upcoming film, 'The Back-up Plan,' and her new album at the same time.

But then her label dropped her about a week ago and all ten people that were paying attention simultaneously tugged at their collars and went, "Ooh, awkward." These same people sat through her musical performances during this episode and, mid-cringe, mumbled, "Well, y'know. Bless her heart for trying."